Urban Fiction Reading Contest!

Enter To Win $500!!!! Enter To Win $500!!!! Enter To Win $500

Exciting News for Urban Fiction Readers! Or lovers of action packed stories. You now have an opportunity to win $500 by entering the Platinum Dust Urban Fiction Reading Contest. Official rules are provided below. Good luck and happy reading.

How The Contest Works?

Purchase a copy of Platinum Dust (Part One) E book  Read the story and answer the 20 trivia questions provided below. Tell your friends and other urban fiction readers to do the same listing you as their referrer. The person with the most correct trivia answers and the most referrals wins $500. That simple.

Platinum Dust Official Entry Rules

To enter the Platinum Dust summer reading contest; All entrants must email their book order confirmation # along with trivia answers and the person who referred them to email platinumdust@yahoo.com. before 12am July 31 to qualify. Follow the format below.

Your name:

Order confirmation#:

Trivia Answers:

Referrer’s Name:

The Person with the most referrals and highest amount of trivia questions correct Wins $500 in cash.

Winner will be announced by Friday August 16th. Winnings will be mailed out accordingly. To get your copy follow the links below

http://www.amazon.com/Platinum-Dust-Part-One-ebook/dp/B00CM3CA0G/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368035755&sr=1-1&keywords=platinum+dust

or visit Booktango’s bookstore for multiple download options (Nook, iPad, e readers) can visit the link below.

http://bookstore.booktango.com search “Platinum Dust”

Disclaimer: if there are mulitple entrants who answers all 20 trivia questions correct the winner will be determined by the number of referrals they have.

Trivia Questions

Which day of the week does Felicia Fall on?

What was Raheim wearing when he met Maya?

What is the name of the mansion Raheim stayed in with Felicia?

Who did Dre put to sleep?

Who bit Raheim?

What is Felicia’s surprise?

What is the name and color of the car that chased Raheim?

Where did Amir meet Pamela?

Where was Carlos Shot?

How many Letters does Raheim read?

Where was the fight between Amir and Raheim?

What is the name of Dre’s enemy/competition?

Which one of Felicia’s Friends is getting married?

Who is Felicia’s best friend named after?

What is the name of the Doctor Felicia was referred to?

What alias does Raheim use?

What nickname does Raheim call Janet?

What is carved into Raheim’s bedposts?

Which character is most known as bipolar?

Who is the first person to die?

Enter To Win $500!!! Enter To Win $500!!! Enter To Win $500!!!

                                                         

What’s Wrong with Self Promotion?

Occasionally I go off the familiar path and write on a topic that lights my fire and the topic of self promotion has done just that. Now I would like to start by saying self-promotion and spam are two different things (at least to me anyway) I will try to make sense of the two and hopefully we all are clear by the end of the post.

I was recently talking with a friend who mentioned how much they hate people sending them emails about their products and or services. However, she is a new business owner and was asking my help on possible marketing and advertising ideas to help promote “HER” project. This piqued my interest and upset me all at the same time. Simply because she doesn’t like others to promote their work but want the world to care about her and her project.

Spam

Spam as it relates to writing is an undesirable attempt at attracting attention to ones self with the sole intent to benefit and not provide anything to its recipients. Spam can come in the form of posting your advertisements with little regard to how others feel about it or if they are even interested in what you are offering.

Self-Promotion

Self-promotion as it relates to writing means sharing your accomplishments with other like minds by inviting them or asking if they would be interested in viewing your content.

My Opinion on Self-Promotion

To me its a shame to have a world filled with talented people and for them to not have an opportunity to share it with the world. I think letting others know about your work is good as long as it is in a sharing platform or if you are asking permission to share. I also think people are a bit shallow as we really don’t want to hear about what others are doing but want others to hear about our projects. We have to find clever, creative and inventive marketing methods to cater to this shallowness.

Spending years, months or weeks working on projects just to not have anyone care seems harsh or cruel to me. I know that everyone is not going to all care about the same things so self-promotion should be targeted hence the reason marketing campaigns are so expensive. I have always been the type of person who loves to receive information and love to share it. I also like providing people with the most how-to information while at the same time-sharing what I am doing.

Now I am not oblivious to the fact that people have the ability to bombard one another with their works but I am not annoyed by it simply because I “get” being excited about something you’ve slaved over or are passionate about. What do you think? What is wrong with self promotion? Please share your thoughts please by commenting below.

If anyone is interested in a self promotion forum where writers can come to share their recent projects, events and what’s going on with them please tell me so

If you like what you’ve read please like my posts and remember to Follow my blog for more Urban Fiction News, Reviews and Real Resources!!!

Urban Fiction

I wanted to take a moment to go over the Urban Fiction Genre. Urban Fiction is a rapidly growing genre written in an urban setting with predominately black or latino characters. It provides readers with an in your face depiction of city living that ranges from murder, adultery, cheating, prison, violence and sex all of which are glamorized sensationally.

The urban fiction genre gives writers an opportunity to challenge their imagination, create over the top characters with even larger than life situations. Readers of the genre enjoy the drama and the ability to live vicariously through its characters. Below I have provided a list of recently released titles and the most popular.

Recently Released Urban Fiction!!!!

          

        

Most popular Urban Fiction!!!!

                     

To find out what all the Urban Fiction buzz is about search major retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. If you would like to read the first three chapters of Platinum Dust follow me on wattpad and start reading.

http://www.wattpad.com/story/5500479-platinum-dust-urban-fiction

If you like what you’ve read please remember to like my posts and Don’t forget to follow my blog for more Urban Fiction News, Reviews and Real Resources!!!

Two Marketing Platforms for Writers!

I recently found a few cool writing platforms that will help writers of any genre gain more exposure. It’s called Wattpad a Canadian based writing social network. It allows writers to post their work by the chapter or full manuscripts. Readers are allowed to read and vote on your content as well as discuss your work. It’s a social network specifically for writers. You can also rate your writing from PG, PG13 to Rated R.

How to use Wattpad for Marketing?

Creating a Wattpad account will give you excess to a large group of people interested in your genre of work. The benefits are countless starting with the great number of people who are already members. This allows you to create a large following, which can potentially attract traditional publishers if that is the route you wish to take. Another cool feature is that if you are already a published author you can give readers a sample of your work. When people have a sample they tend to leave feedback and reviews which all goes back to word of mouth marketing.

You will obviously need to create a profile and visit members. This is like any other social networking site when it comes to gaining friends. You scratch my back I’ll scratch yours is the rules we must go by.

How to Use Bookrix for Marketing?

For starters Bookrix is a reading platform that has a great deal to offer its members. Members of Bookrix are about to upload their books for other readers for free or to sale their work. If you select the sell option your book will be made available to major retailers including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Scribd and all of the other major retailers. It helps if you already have a professionally done book cover. They provide your book with an ISBN which is mandatory if you plan on selling your work. It also has a large member base so the potential of having readers interesting in purchasing your work is great. I personally suggest you offer your work or a few chapters for free for a few months to get a fan base and then offer it for sale. Incredible marketing tool as it gives members and opportunity to better their craft, gain feedback from their target audience and make their book better before presenting it to the rest of the world.

To read the first three chapters of my recently released urban fiction book “Platinum Dust”  for FREE you can visit me on Wattpad @

http://www.wattpad.com search Platinum Dust to read the first three chapters

or you can visit Bookrix for the first three chapters @

http://www.bookrix.com search Platinum Dust for the first three chapters

Remember to like my posts and follow my blog for more Urban Fiction News, Reviews and Real Resources!

Amazon Listmania: More Book Sales?

     In my constant search for more ways to sell more books I have decided to take a closer look into Amazon’s Listmania! Many consumers enjoy sharing a great find which is why many companies covet the most powerful marketing strategy which is word of mouth marketing. In the world of modern-day technology word of mouth marketing is like hitting a gold mine. So Listmania! becomes a great way for authors to maximize exposure for their books. This post is dedicated to selling more books using the Amazon platform.

What is Listmania! ?

Amazon offers its customers an opportunity to create a list of their favorite things. They can build their lists according to their interest and other shoppers who are interested in the same types of items are free to view the list. The purpose of the lists is to help other shoppers find good reads or products. Its Amazon’s way of advertising more products by way of consumers. Listmania! lists can be named to make it easier to find and searched. Example: “Best Urban Fiction Books”

Benefits of Listmania!

The obvious benefits of using Listmania! from a marketing point of view is more exposure. Your book can be put on the same list with well-known authors. What makes this so exciting is that when people look up a genre for example urban fiction and they type in the name of a well-known competitor your book’s title will also appear as well. Having a few lists created with your book’s title on it means more potential exposure as well as more chances for reviews which also boosts your book on the Amazon search ranking.

Listmania! and You 

If you are a debut author you may not have a following however, Listmania! can aid you in getting more recognition, exposure and sales. The first step to getting a Listmania! list is to sign into your Amazon account, if you don’t have one you will need to create a profile. It is also possible Amazon may want you to make a purchase before you can set up a Listmania! list. You can buy a .99 cent ebook to speed up the process. Next, log into you account and go to your profile page. There will be a contributions page where you can select lists. You will need to name the lists, tell why you are qualified. “writer” or “reviewer or even lover of the genre” should be satisfactory.

If you are a writer creating the list you will not want to avoid the intro section of your lists. This will give people an idea of what your list is about or what they can expect to see. Add items to your list and though it may be tempting authors shouldn’t list their book on the top instead place titles of well known competitors at the top and then yours a few down on the list. It will help look less marketing strategy. After your list is created implore the assistance of family and friends who would be willing to do the same. When people do a search for urban fiction, Listmania! will automatically feature lists with relevant content or titles. People who are familiar with your competitors who are more known will see your title and may be compelled to get a copy to see what your story is all about.

What to expect from Listmania! ?

 New authors should not expect this to produce a great deal of sales if this is their only form of marketing. Remember marketing is multi-faceted. it should be a part of a bigger marketing plan. Combining your other marketing attempts with an Amazon Listmania! list can prove to be profitable especially in the hungry Urban fiction market. The more lists your book is on the more it will it will show up on the search.

Hope the info has been helpful. Don’t forget to like my posts and Follow my blog for updates on the latest Urban Fiction News, Reviews and Resources!!!! 

 photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/feuilllu/436336477/”>Pierre Metivier</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/”>cc</a>

Book Review: The Wanderer’s Game

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s always nice to read from an author who has the range. Keri Singleton takes his reader on a literary journey to the darker side of city living. Follow Reggie Watson a handsome young man with his eye on the bigger picture as he tries to make his dream of becoming an actor a reality. He leaves the only home he has ever known for the glitz and glamour of New York City only to find himself placed in one bad situation after another.

A meeting with a fast friend introduces him to the dark underworld of male prostitution, where he finds himself questioning his morals and desire to make it. Each male ‘sponsor’ provides fast cash and another opportunity to see the world he didn’t know existed. If you are looking for a good read that makes it hard to put down, then you’ve found a winner. My only complaint is that the story ended to soon. I wanted to know all of the little details and found myself flipping through the book to see if there was something I may have missed.

The Wanderer’s Game can be purchased on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/The-Wanderers-Game-Keri-Singleton/dp/1482740982/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367463163&sr=8-1&keywords=the+wanderer%27s+game

Mr. Singleton will also be in town for a book signing at Black & Noble Bookstore on May 17th, (Broad & Erie) at 4pm. Residents of the Philadelphia, Chester and Delco areas go out and show some love!!!!!!

Don’t forget to like my post and Follow my blog for more updates on the latest Urban Fiction News, Reviews and Resources

Urban Fiction Marketing Strategies!

If you are done writing your urban fiction title and followed the steps found in “The No Bull Method to Publishing” then this post is for you. I can’t stress enough how many new writers I run across who are absolutely clueless when it comes to marketing their new books. Simply having it published and placing it on major retailer’s websites will not yield sales. You must become an active participant in the success of your book’s sales. There are many services that can help you. The Urban Fiction Genre is producing many millionaires but you must know how to get the word out or you will be just another unknown published author in the sea of words. A previous post went over some of these marketing strategies but I will go over them again. I have found new information as always I am eager to share.

 

Urban Fiction Book Flyers

Unlike traditional paper flyers urban fiction book flyers are high-resolution postcards with a gloss finish. They have a picture of your book cover a brief synopsis and purchasing information. This powerful method of marketing gives authors a direct line of advertising to their target audience. It puts something tangible in the hands of your potential readers without you verbally providing a sales pitch. One of the best services out there providing authors and (every type of business owner) flyer designs with local distribution is Blazon Posts. http://www.blazonposts.com. They also offer advertising solutions which include TV marketing. I also had my other website http://www.thenobullmethod.net designed by them also. Great customer service and attention to detail. The owner makes sure he brings your vision to life.

 

Urban Fiction Book Stubs

Book stubs are the size of a business card showing a picture of your book’s cover with a download code for your book. It allows authors to provide one free download of your ebook. Everyone loves free so this service is a great marketing strategy that will allow debut authors a chance to give potential readers or even reviewers a free copy of their book which ultimately leads to word of mouth marketing. Authors can also use book stubs as free giveaways or contest winnings. It helps create a buzz around new titles and can help with getting more attention to your titles. Booktango authors can purchase book stubs as low as $99. http://www.booktango.com

 

Urban Fiction Press Releases

Many writers underestimate the power of press releases in spreading the word of your new title. Not only is a press release a valuable source of putting the word out there but it can also provide new authors with interview requests, book features and radio interview spots. Many press release services do not cater to the urban fiction genre so many of the genre’s authors are limited in their attempts at marketing. For a well written press release and distribution to major Urban fiction venues check out my service page.

Hope you found these strategies useful and find success implementing them in your urban fiction marketing strategy. Follow my blog Urban Fiction News for more insightful information so you can stay up on the latest happenings on the streets of the urban fiction genre. Don’t forget to like my posts and remember NOW is the time to see your DREAMS come to past!!!!!!